Rorschach president.

Perhaps you know this about me, but I've never been one to associate support for official Israeli government policy with support for Israelis. There is plenty of dissent in Israel around the conflict with the Palestinians, so I don't know why anyone on this side of the ocean should feel reluctant to criticize actions that merit criticism. There is such demagoguery on this issue in the U.S., though, that very few people speak their minds, particularly those in the political class. However, to the extent that words and actions matter, I would have to say that Barack Obama has been at least as big a booster of the right-wing Israeli government as his predecessor, and in concrete terms - military aid, security coordination, etc. - arguable and even bigger one.

That's why the hue and cry over Obama's Israel policy, initially aimed at procuring a Republican victory in Anthony Weiner's old Brooklyn district, seems so unmoored from reality. Where did they get this idea that Obama is somehow "soft" on support for Israel? I think I can guess - from somebody's racist best friend. This appears to be an effort to crack Obama's support amongst Jewish voters via yet another attempt to dog-whistle his "otherness" - in essence, his black identity - in a part of the country with a history of tension between black and Jewish residents. Republican candidates see an opportunity here - that's why they're more expulsionist than Avigdor Lieberman. That's why we were treated to the spectacle of Rick Perry dancing with Rabbis.

Just to be clear, I do not support Obama's policy toward Israel/Palestine. But to suggest that he is somehow anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian is just ... well, that's your crack talking. With respect to his actions and rhetoric as president, nothing could be further from the truth. And yet the Republican field senses a vulnerability on this issue, so they're more than happy to exploit it. I can never quite work out whether these people are amazingly clever or astoundingly ignorant. Either the Republicans don't know that he's essentially operating from their right on this issue, or they're race-baiting him in a not-too subtle way. Either way, it is doing neither the Palestinians nor the Israelis any good. It's just helping to generate more bad policy.

More bad policy is just what we don't need. But all you Likud-hawks out there, never fear: Obama is squarely in your corner.

luv u,

jp

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